Mörgeli wants survey ban for SRG
SVP National Council member Christoph Mörgeli is submitting a parliamentary initiative that would ban radio and TV stations from conducting polls in the run-up to referendums.
The ban is intended to apply to SRG media and other licensed media outlets. The motion was prompted by the repeated inaccurate predictions in SRG polls conducted by pollster Claude Longchamp, as reported by the newspapers *Schweiz am Sonntag* and *NZZ am Sonntag* in their latest issues. According to these reports, the forecast for the Ecopop initiative—which, according to Mörgeli, was «absurdly far from reality» (74.1 percent voted «No» instead of the predicted 56 percent)—was the last straw. The National Council cites “scientific findings” that are said to demonstrate the opinion-shaping and mobilizing effects of polls on voting behavior. Furthermore, it argues that it is unacceptable for the SRG to have the same companies comment on the polls that they also conducted.
According to *Schweiz am Sonntag*, «poll flops» have been piling up lately. The Mass Immigration Initiative was rejected in the polls with only 43 percent voting in favor. Longchamp also predicted that the Minaret Initiative would be rejected. And in the vote on the highway vignette, a “yes” vote was predicted, but the result was a clear “no.” According to Longchamp, polls are not predictions but rather snapshots of a moment in time. (hae/SaS)
Teaser image (Mörgeli/Longchamp): Keystone
